Live blog: Israel will stay in Gaza's Philadelphi Corridor — Netanyahu

Wednesday, August 21, 2024

1930 GMT — Israel has not agreed to withdraw its troops from the so-called Philadelphi Corridor along the border between Egypt and Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said, denying an Israeli television report.

"Israel will insist on the achievement of all of its objectives for the war, as they have been defined by the Security Cabinet, including that Gaza never again constitutes a security threat to Israel. This requires securing the southern border," Netahyahu's office said in a statement.

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0917 GMT — Israeli sources accuse US Secretary of State Blinken of sabotaging Gaza ceasefire talks

Well-placed Israeli sources accused US Secretary of State Antony Blinken of sabotaging negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas.

According to a report by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, unnamed sources said: “Blinken made a grave mistake by claiming that Netanyahu accepted the US proposal, putting the ball in Hamas' court.”

The sources argued that Blinken “seriously undermined the negotiations and demonstrated a lack of understanding,” accusing him of fostering false optimism for internal US political reasons, particularly to ensure the smooth running of the Democratic Party's convention in Chicago, which began Monday and continues through Thursday.

The sources added that senior Israeli negotiators were alarmed by Blinken's statements during his press conference, believing that he had “dealt a death blow to the deal” by siding with Netanyahu and giving him a “gift.”

1910 GMT — Biden spoke to Netanyahu on Gaza truce: White House

US President Joe Biden called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Gaza ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas stumble, the White House said.

The pair, joined by Vice President and White House hopeful Kamala Harris, discussed "the ceasefire and hostage release deal and diplomatic efforts to de-escalate regional tensions," the White House said in a brief statement.

A readout of the call would be forthcoming, the White House added.

1730 GMT — Israeli intel chief resigns, takes blame for October 7 failure

Israel's outgoing head of military intelligence took responsibility for his country's failures to defend its border on October 7 at his resignation ceremony.

Major General Aharon Haliva, a 38-year veteran of the military, announced his resignation in April and was one of a number of senior Israeli commanders who said they had failed to foresee and prevent the deadliest attack in Israel's history.

"The failure of the intelligence corps was my fault," Haliva said at the ceremony on Wednesday, and he called for a national investigation "in order to study" and "understand deeply" the reasons that led to the brutal Israeli war on Gaza.

The October 7 attack badly tarnished the reputation of the Israeli military and intelligence services, previously seen as all but unbeatable by Palestinian groups such as Hamas.

1730 GMT — Israeli opposition leader urges Netanyahu to go to Egypt for Gaza ceasefire talks

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to attend a new round of negotiations in Egypt to reach a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap deal with Hamas.

“If Netanyahu is so convinced of his negotiating abilities, let him go to Egypt and sit there until he closes a deal,” Lapid said on X.

“This is what a responsible prime minister who cares about the lives of his citizens should do,” he added, asserting that “the only reason he doesn't do it is because he no longer has a soul.”

1700 GMT — Ex-Israeli defence minister calls for denying all essential supplies to besieged Gaza

Former Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman called for a complete separation between Israel and Gaza, advocating the denial of all essential supplies to the Palestinian enclave, including water, electricity, fuel, and goods.

This statement was the latest in an ongoing incitement campaign by Israeli officials against Gaza, which has been subjected to a bloody war for 320 days.

“The decision that must be made today is a complete separation between Israel and Gaza,” Lieberman, the leader of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu Party, said on X.

“No electricity, no crossings, no water, no fuel and no goods, complete disconnection,” he added.

1645 GMT — Yemen’s Houthis report 3 more US-UK air strikes on Al Hudaidah

The US and Britain launched three air strikes against Houthi sites in Yemen, the Yemeni group said.

The attacks targeted As-Salif directorate in the western Al Hudaidah province, the Houthi-run Al-Masirah television reported.

No details were yet available about casualties or damage.

1550 GMT — Greek-flagged vessel attacked in Red Sea, catches fire, loses engine power

A Greek-flagged vessel was attacked while sailing in the Red Sea, the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy announced in Athens.

The attack occurred 77 nautical miles southwest of Al Hudaidah and resulted in material damage rather than casualties, the ministry said in a statement.

Commenting on the attack, Shipping Minister Christos Stylianidis said that this attack is a flagrant violation of international law and a serious threat to the safety of international navigation.

1455 GMT — Around 30,000 Gazans packed in every square kilometre of Israel-designated ‘safe zone’

Around 30,000 people are packed in every square kilometre in Gaza amid Israeli evacuation orders for residents in the enclave, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said.

“Protracted military operations and repeated evacuation orders have forced families in Gaza to flee again and again,” the UN agency said in a statement.

Thousands of displaced Palestinian civilians began evacuating their areas in eastern Deir al Balah in central Gaza after new Israeli evacuation orders.

1430 GMT — Israel kills dozens in Gaza as Blinken ends visit with no truce

Israeli air strikes across Gaza killed at least 50 Palestinians in the past 24 hours, Palestinian health officials said, after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended his latest visit to the region with a truce deal still elusive.

As last-ditch diplomacy continued to halt, the Israeli military said jets hit around 30 targets throughout Gaza claiming that its troops killed dozens of fighters and seized weapons including explosives, grenades and automatic rifles.

Israeli air strikes 13 Palestinians, including children and women, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, in the past few hours, medical source tells Anadolu Agency.

The Israeli military also struck a school and a nearby house in Gaza City, killing at least three people and wounding 15, the enclave's Civil Emergency Service said.

1400 GMT — UK-based NGO warns of mass polio outbreak in Gaza

The re-emergence of the polio virus in Gaza has sparked urgent concerns among health officials and aid organisations, with fears that tens of thousands of children could be at risk due to a crippled healthcare system and ongoing hostilities.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently reported the detection of the polio virus in sewage samples from Khan Younis and Deir al Balah.


Earlier this month, Gaza’s Ministry of Health confirmed a case of polio in a 10-month-old child from Deir al Balah, marking the first reported case in Gaza in over two decades.

1350 GMT — Iran vows retaliation against Israel, emphasises 'surprise' timing amid Gaza ceasefire talks

Iran’s permanent mission to the UN said the country is "meticulously" planning a retaliatory strike against Israel amid Gaza ceasefire talks.

Asked if Iran is intentionally withholding its attack on Israel as negotiations for a truce in the Palestinian enclave continue, the mission in a statement said: "Iran’s response must yield two distinct objectives.

Its first objective is to "punish the aggressor" for its actions, and secondly, to strengthen Iran's deterrence capabilities "to induce profound regret within the Israeli regime, thereby serving as a deterrent against the repetition of any act of aggression in the future."

"Iran’s response must be carefully calibrated to avoid any possible adverse impact that could potentially influence a prospective ceasefire," it added.

1315 GMT — Israeli attacks kill at least 4 Palestinians in war-torn Gaza

At least four Palestinians were killed in fresh Israeli attacks in Gaza, health authorities said.

An Israeli airplane dropped a bomb in the Zaytoun neighbourhood in Gaza City, killing two people, witnesses said.

A medical source at the Arab Baptist Hospital confirmed that two people had been killed in the attack.

A Palestinian child also lost her life in Israeli artillery shelling east of Gaza City, another medical source said.

1100 GMT — Ultra-Orthodox Jews clash with Israeli police near army's recruitment office

Scores of Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Jews protested against conscription, and clashed with Israeli police near an army's recruitment office in West Jerusalem.

Footage published by Israeli social media accounts showed protesters blocking a street near the military base, and clashing with police officers that tried to disperse them.

In one scene, one of the protesters was seen calling the police "Nazis."

In a statement, the Israeli police declared the protest “illegal,” and used force to get demonstrators off roads and drive them away from the area of the recruitment office.

1055 GMT — Israel kills first Fatah commander since October

A senior official from the Palestinian Fatah movement told reporters that Israel killed a fellow party member in south Lebanon in order to start a regional war.

The "assassination of a Fatah official is further proof that Israel wants to ignite a full-scale war in the region", Tawfiq Tirawy, a member of Fatah's central committee, told AFP, referring to the killing of Khalil al Makdah in an Israeli air strike in Lebanon.

The group’s armed wing, the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, said Khalil al Makdah was killed in the coastal city of Sidon “while performing his duty in supporting the Palestinian people and resistance.”

Khalil al Makdah is brother of Fatah leader Munir al Maqdah.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said al Makdah was killed when an Israeli drone struck his car in the Villas area in Sidon.

1105 GMT — Israeli attacks kill 50 more Palestinians in Gaza as death toll surpasses 40,200

At least 50 more Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza in the past day, pushing up the overall death toll since last October 7 to 40,223, the Health Ministry in the war-torn enclave said.

A ministry statement added that some 92,981 others have been injured in the ongoing assault.

“Israeli forces killed 50 people and injured 124 others in four ‘massacres’ of families in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said.

“Many people are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.

0905 GMT — 2 people, including Hezbollah member, killed in Israeli air strikes on southern Lebanon

Two people, including a Hezbollah member, were killed in Israeli air strikes on southern Lebanon, while the Lebanese group said it targeted Israeli military sites in the occupied Golan Heights and northern Israel.

In two separate statements, the Lebanese Health Ministry said a Lebanese man was killed in the Israeli air strike on Beit Lif, while in the other air strike on Al-Wazzani town, a Syrian national was killed.

Hezbollah later announced that one of its fighters, identified as Hussein Mohammad Mostafa, was killed in the Israeli attack on Beit Lif, bringing the number of Hezbollah fighters killed in the past few hours to four.

0841 GMT — Turkish foreign minister, US counterpart discuss ceasefire talks

Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his US counterpart Antony Blinken discussed the latest status of the ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

In a phone call requested from the US side, Fidan and Blinken also discussed developments in the region, a Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.

The US, Egypt and Qatar announced last week following ceasefire talks in Doha that they had presented Israel and Hamas with what they called a "bridging proposal" to further narrow "remaining gaps in the manner that allows for a swift implementation of the deal."

0840 GMT — Commercial ship 'not under command' after attack in Red Sea

A commercial ship travelling through the Red Sea came under repeated attack Wednesday, leaving the vessel “not under command” in an assault suspected to have been carried out by Yemen's Houthis, the British military said.

Few details were immediately available about the attack, though it comes during the Houthis' monthslong campaign targeting ships over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The attack saw men on small boats first open fire with small arms some 140 kilometres west of the Houthi-held Yemeni port city of Hudaida, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said.

Three projectiles also hit the ship, it added. It wasn't immediately clear if that meant drones or missiles.

“The vessel reports being not under command,” the UKMTO said, likely meaning it lost all power. “No casualties reported.”

The Houthis did not immediately claim the attack, though it can take them hours or even days before they acknowledge one of their assaults.

0811 GMT — Hezbollah fires dozens of rockets at occupied Golan Heights

The attack came a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar as he pressed ahead with the latest diplomatic mission to secure a ceasefire in the war in Gaza, even as Hamas and Israel signalled that challenges remain.

Israeli first responders in occupied Golan Heights said they treated a 30-year-old man who was moderately wounded with shrapnel injuries in Wednesday’s attack. One house was engulfed in flames, and firefighters said they prevented a bigger tragedy by stopping a gas leak.

Hezbollah said the attack was in response to an Israeli strike deep into Lebanon on Tuesday night that killed one and injured 19.

0716 GMT — 4 Palestinians killed in Israeli raid on gathering in Rafah

At least four Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike that targeted a gathering in northwestern Rafah, southern Gaza.

"Four martyrs arrived (at the hospital) as a result of an Israeli air strike on a gathering of people in Rafah city," a medical source at the Nasser Hospital said.

Witnesses said the strike targeted the Shakoush neighbourhood, which is home to thousands of displaced people.

0230 GMT — Pro-Palestine protesters arrested in Chicago

More than a dozen pro-Palestine demonstrators have been arrested during a protest that began outside the Israeli consulate and spilt out onto the surrounding streets on the second night of the Democratic National Convention.

The intense confrontations with officers began minutes into the demonstration, after some protesters – many dressed in black, their faces covered – charged at a line of police that had blocked the group from marching.

A man in a Chicago Bulls hat, his face covered by a balaclava, called on protesters to "shut down the DNC."

The group, which is not affiliated with the coalition of over 200 groups that organised Monday’s protests, advertised the demonstration under the slogan of "Make it great like ’68," invoking the anti-Vietnam War protests that seized the city during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

2030 GMT — Blinken seeks Gaza truce but Netanyahu sabotages deal

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken has said in Qatar that there was no time to waste to reach a Gaza ceasefire deal as he wrapped up a Middle East tour.

"Time is of the essence" for a truce deal, Blinken told reporters at Doha airport as he prepared to fly back to Washington, adding that the United States rejects a "long-term" Israeli occupation in besieged Gaza.

He added the United States, Egypt and Qatar will do everything possible to get Hamas resistance group on board with the"bridging proposal."

Hamas says it will stick to original Biden-announced truce plan and accused US of not being an honest peace broker. Hamas says Israel is obstructing the previously agreed plan by making new demands.

Israel's hawkish premier Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that his country will not withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor (Saladin Axis) on the Gaza-Egypt border and the Netzarim Axis, which divides Gaza into two parts "under any circumstances."

Hamas says this new demand by Netanyahu is a non-starter.

0100 GMT — Anti-Israel hackers release troves of classified data: Haaretz

Anti-Israel hackers have released extensive amounts of classified data amid Israel’s struggle to contain leaks, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

The leaks, according to the newspaper, involve tens of thousands of sensitive documents and emails stolen from Israeli institutions, including the Justice Ministry.

The attacks, which began on October 7, 2023, have targeted a wide range of entities, from military and defense contractors to hospitals and government ministries. The scale of the breach has overwhelmed Israel's cybersecurity infrastructure.

"The true extent of the damage to Israel’s security and economy caused by these leaks is not yet fully known," a source close to the investigation revealed. "Despite massive investment in defensive cybersecurity measures, the scale of the leaks is likely the most severe in Israel's history — an unprecedented looting of gigabytes upon gigabytes of information of all sorts."

2000 GMT — Netanyahu accused of sabotaging talks

Some members involved in the ongoing talks for a hostage release-ceasefire deal have accused Netanyahu of intentionally sabotaging the negotiations after he was said to have told the hawkish Tikva and Gvura forums that "Israel won't leave the Philadelphi Corridor and the Netzarim Corridor under any circumstances," the KAN public broadcaster said.

"Netanyahu's statement is intended to blow up the negotiations, there's no other way about it," the source told KAN.

"The prime minister knows that we are in a critical period during which we're working on solutions for the Philadelphi Corridor and Netzarim ahead of the next summit."

"He knows there is progress — and then he puts out statements that are the opposite of what was agreed upon with the mediators," the source added.

2000 GMT — Israeli strikes kill 4 in Lebanon

Lebanon has said four people were killed in Israeli strikes in the country's south, while Hezbollah said it launched barrages of rockets and drones at Israeli troops.

Hezbollah, an ally of Palestinian resistance group Hamas, has traded near daily cross-border fire with Israeli troops since the Gaza war began in October.

But fears of a major escalation have grown in recent weeks after the Israeli killing of a top Hezbollah commander.

Lebanon's Health Ministry said "Israeli enemy strikes on the village of Dhayra" killed four people and wounded two others, after earlier reporting two dead.

For our live updates from Tuesday, August 20, 2024, click here.